A few days ago, I found myself sitting on my couch staring at my suitcase, trying to convince myself to unpack it.

My voice was still raspy. My feet hurt. My inbox was overflowing. And despite having just spent an incredible 8 days in Cannes representing Stage 32, I felt completely and utterly exhausted.

To make matters even more exciting, my journey home turned into a 33-hour travel nightmare involving delays, missed flights, airport chaos, and far more time sitting in uncomfortable chairs than any human should reasonably endure. Then, almost immediately after I made it home, I was hit with a nasty head cold. Congestion, coughing, fatigue, that wonderful feeling of having your brain wrapped in cotton, all the fun stuff.

As I sat there debating whether I had the energy to unpack a single sock, I realized something important. I’ve been doing conventions, festivals, and large-scale events for most of my life, and somehow I still forget that recovery isn’t something that happens automatically. It’s something you have to intentionally make time for.

Long before I was representing Stage 32 at Cannes and Austin Film Festival, I was a convention kid. Every summer in high school, my best friends and I worked at BrickWorld, one of the largest LEGO conventions in the country, held just outside Chicago. Since then, I’ve experienced events from just about every angle imaginable. I’ve attended them, volunteered at them, worked them, organized them, spoken at them, and spent the last several years helping coordinate panels, parties, and networking events for Stage 32.

And if there’s one thing all of those experiences have taught me, it’s this: The event itself is only half the challenge.

So today, I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years about taking care of yourself both during and after these incredible experiences.

Your Voice Will Eventually Wave the White Flag

I have never made it through Austin Film Festival without losing my voice. Not once.

This year at Cannes, I started noticing my voice getting scratchy by Sunday. By Monday, it was almost completely gone.

When you spend twelve to sixteen hours a day talking, networking, attending meetings, participating in panels, yelling over crowds, and catching up with friends and colleagues, your vocal cords eventually decide they’ve had enough.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that protecting your voice has to start before you think you need to.

Throat lozenges have become a non-negotiable, especially the ones that contain menthol or lidocaine. I actually forgot to pack some this year and found myself at a French Pharmacy stocking up. Water is equally important, though anyone who has attended Cannes knows that water sometimes feels harder to find than an A-list celebrity. Whenever I see an opportunity to grab water, I take it. So should you.

If I have a few extra minutes in the morning or before bed, I also try to make tea with honey. It sounds simple, but it makes a huge difference. I’m not even a big tea drinker, but these days are exceptions to the rule. Honey is naturally antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and it does wonders for a tired throat. One thing I’ve started packing is honey straws or honey spoons because they’re easy to travel with and don’t take up much space. They can live in your hotel room, your Airbnb, or your festival day bag and become a lifesaver when your voice starts feeling rough.

The reality is that your voice is one of your most important networking tools during a festival. Taking a few minutes to care for it each day can make a huge difference by the end of the week.

Your Feet Are Carrying Your Entire Career That Week

Let’s talk about feet. I know it isn’t glamorous, some may even cringe at the word, but it’s important.

By the middle of most festivals, your feet are doing more work than almost any other part of your body. You’re walking miles every day, standing through networking events, running between meetings, climbing stairs, and spending hours on your feet from morning until well after midnight.

Hopefully you’ve packed comfortable shoes and maybe even compression socks. But even with the best preparation, there comes a point where your feet simply hit a wall. I’ve learned that the secret isn’t avoiding foot soreness altogether. The secret is managing it before it becomes a bigger problem.

If I’m staying somewhere with a bathtub, one of my first stops is usually a nearby store to pick up Epsom salts. Even a quick ten-minute soak at the end of the day can make a noticeable difference. Unfortunately, my Airbnb in Cannes only has a shower, which means I have to get a little more creative.

One of my favorite tricks is packing a simple tennis ball. At the end of the day, I roll it under my feet while catching up on messages or reviewing the next day’s schedule. It helps release tension and gives sore arches some much-needed relief.

I also never travel without a few Dr. Scholl’s Tired, Achy Feet Reviving Foot Masks. They come in thin, lightweight packages, easy to pack, and honestly feel incredible after a long day (they have Epsom salt in them). This year, I added something new to my recovery toolkit: a wearable heated foot and ankle massage wrap. It was one of the best purchases I’ve made for travel. A quick twenty-minute session before bed made a huge difference, and I may or may not have fallen asleep wearing it more than once.

I know this probably sounds like a lot. But here’s my philosophy: It’s your feet. You need them. Take care of them. You won’t be sorry.

Hand Sanitizer Is the Unsung Hero of Festival Season

I freely admit that I am already a bit of a Bath & Body Works pocket hand sanitizer addict.

But festivals take things to another level.

Think about how many people you meet in a single day. How many hands you shake. How many hugs you give. How many public doors, railings, elevator buttons, escalators, taxis, trains, and shared surfaces you touch without even thinking about it.

Now multiply that by thousands of attendees. That’s a lot of germs.

I always keep one hand sanitizer in my pocket and another in my festival day bag. It takes two seconds to use on and off throughout the day, and it helps protect you during a week when your body is already working overtime. It also just feels refreshing.

The last thing you want is to come home from an incredible festival with a souvenir cold. Speaking from recent experience.

Don’t Let Your Business Cards Become a Mystery Pile

One of the biggest challenges after any festival is remembering everyone you’ve met.

You can easily meet dozens, if not hundreds, of people throughout the week. By the time you get home, faces, conversations, and business cards can start blending together. One trick I’ve started using is surprisingly simple.

Whenever someone gives me a business card, I take a quick photo of it. Then I ask them if they’d like to take a selfie together. The photo of the card and the selfie end up right next to each other in my camera roll, making it much easier later to connect the face with the name.

But the real game-changer came from Amanda Toney. Last year she taught me the spreadsheet method, and I will never go back.

Every morning before heading out for the day, I spend five or ten minutes updating a simple spreadsheet. I add names, contact information, company titles, where we met, what we talked about, and any follow-up notes I want to remember.

The key is doing it daily. If you wait until you get home, the details start to fade. If you spend a few minutes each morning keeping it updated, everything stays fresh and organized. You can even create the quick spreadsheet before you leave or while on the plane. It will save you time and be a game-changer.

Trust me. Future you will be incredibly grateful.

The Most Important Part of the Festival Happens After You Get Home

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the festival doesn’t actually end when your plane lands.

Physically, you may be home, but your body is still catching up, especially if there’s jet lag involved. Your brain is still processing everything you’ve experienced, and your immune system is trying to recover from days of long hours, inconsistent meals, travel stress, and very little downtime.

Because of that, I try to treat recovery as part of the event itself rather than something separate from it. I admit, this is something that doesn’t come naturally to me, and it takes real effort to make myself slow down and not try to jump into everything I need to catch up on. I’m working on it, and I think I’m getting better at it. But believe me, I know it’s not an easy thing to do for most people.

The first thing I try to prioritize is sleep. Real sleep. Not the amount of sleep I think I should need, but the amount my body is actually asking for. Festivals are fueled by excitement, adrenaline, caffeine (Amanda may or may not have cut off my Red Bull intake at one point this year to make sure I actually sleep), and the determination to squeeze every possible opportunity out of every day. It’s exhilarating while you’re there, but eventually that bill comes due. When I get home, I TRY to give myself permission to rest without feeling guilty about it.

Whenever possible, I also recommend building a buffer day into your travel schedule before returning to work. Airlines are unpredictable, and flight delays seem more common than ever. Giving yourself an extra day can save you a tremendous amount of stress if travel plans go sideways. And if everything goes perfectly? Congratulations, you’ve just gifted yourself an extra sleep recovery day.

My other piece of advice is one that always makes people laugh: Become a house cat.

For the first week after a major festival, don’t feel obligated to jump right back into a busy social calendar. Give yourself permission to stay home. Go to bed early. Watch something mindless on television. Read a book. Spend time with your spouse, partner, kids, roommates, or pets. Enjoy being in your own space again.

After spending a week surrounded by thousands of people, constantly networking, talking, listening, and being “on,” your nervous system deserves a little quiet.

Listen to Your Body

This might be the most important lesson I’ve learned from years of conventions, festivals, and markets.

Your body is usually very honest with you. The challenge is that most of us are terrible listeners. I know I am!

When I get home from an event like Cannes, I try to pay attention to what my body is asking for. Sometimes that’s more sleep. Sometimes it’s more water. Sometimes it’s simply slowing down for a few days instead of immediately trying to operate at full speed.

Hydration becomes a huge priority for me after travel. I always keep Liquid I.V. packets on hand and usually add extra zinc, potassium, and magnesium into my routine for a few days as well. Between long flights, inconsistent schedules, and being around thousands of people, I want to give my immune system every bit of support I can.

Most importantly, I try to remember that recovery isn’t laziness and it isn’t weakness. It’s maintenance.

The same way we maintain our creative skills, our relationships, and our careers, we also need to maintain ourselves.

Don’t Let the Connections Fade Away

Once you’ve had some time to rest and settle back into normal life, usually about a week or so, it’s time to start revisiting all of those wonderful connections you made.

This is when I begin reaching back out to people, scheduling Zoom calls, setting up coffee meetings, and sending follow-up messages. The spreadsheet I mentioned earlier becomes incredibly valuable during this stage because it helps me remember not just who I met, but what we talked about and why I wanted to stay connected.

One mistake I see people make is feeling like they need to follow up immediately. In reality, most people are recovering just like you are. They’re unpacking, catching up on work, sorting through business cards, and trying to remember what day it is.

Giving yourself and others a little breathing room isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it often leads to more thoughtful and meaningful follow-up conversations.

The important thing is not letting those connections disappear entirely. The festival may be over, but the relationships you’ve started building are just getting started.

Final Thoughts

One of the reasons I love festivals, markets, and conventions so much is that they remind me why I fell in love with creative communities in the first place.

Whether it was working at LEGO conventions with my friends as a teenager, attending Comic Con, SXSW, Horror Hound, and Austin Film Festival, or representing Stage 32 at Cannes, the thing that always stays with me isn’t the exhaustion. It’s the people.

It’s the conversations that spark new ideas. The friendships that form unexpectedly. The collaborations that begin over coffee, cocktails, or a chance meeting in line for an event.

But I’ve also learned that if we want to keep showing up for those opportunities year after year, we have to take care of ourselves in between. Recovery isn’t a luxury; it’s part of the process.

So if you’ve recently returned home from a festival, conference, convention, or market, give yourself some grace. Rest. Rehydrate. Spend time with the people you love. Cuddle your pets. Catch up on sleep. The emails will still be there tomorrow. The opportunities will still be there next week.

Take care of yourself first.

Then, when you’re ready, start planning for the next adventure.

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